Today’s instalment of Christmas Gift Ideas comes from a self-confessed cartoonaholic.

I often joked about how once H could speak she’d be asking to watch documentaries while Shaun and I watched a random cartoon on tv. That hasn’t happened yet, but there’s still plenty of time.

We went to the Beano Christmas event back in the summer – and have been sent a wonderful Beano jigsaw to review. This isn’t the kind of puzzle a four year old will want to do, but it is definitely the kind of puzzle a family might want to sit around the table and do together – it has 1,000 pieces you see. I like the idea of us doing it together – it reminds me of Christmas when I was younger and my dad would sit and do a jigsaw while drinking a nice glass of red wine as we watched whatever festive delights were on the telly while we helped him find the edges and whatever else he’d let us do. H really likes Dennis and Gnasher (and has watched the CBBC show a few times now) and I know is growing into a mini Beano fan – as a former mini Beano fan myself I can only approve of this progression and hope it may continue, while subliminally getting her hooked via jigsaws!

Tickety Toc have a new book out – Bubble Time. Tommy and Tallulah are having another adventure, and now they’re on Channel 5 I’m sure will be a popular one this Christmas. We’ve been sent the book and being the kind mummy I am, I’ve put it away until Christmas, so am reviewing this with my ‘this is what H would think’ head on. I’m not sure how close this works with the Bubble Time app (as we don’t have it) but I’m assuming it should. Tommy and Tallulah are trying to stop the giant un-poppa-bubble. There was a special Christmas Tickety Toc episode Christmas episode on Saturday November 30th at 12.30pm on Nick Jr so keep an eye out for repeats!

Babar the Elephant isn’t a cartoon, but has been and still is, so that’s good enough for me. To commemorate Babar’s 80th Anniversary there’s loads available – we’ve got the Babar Collection of Five Classic Stories which are a great starter place for H – she met a Babar at an event so he’s on her radar, and they’re packed so well as a little set – they’re the original Jean de Brunhoff stories (his son carried on the name, writing several more stories after his death).

Going back to The Beano, there is the 2013 Annual to consider too – loads of cartoons, plenty of Dennis the Menace and the rest of the gang, if you like The Beano, this is a good one for you. I may have found myself reading and chuckling along to a little too much of this…  available in all good stores and suitable for all ages!

Finally, one that isn’t really for us adults, but is handy when you need to distract your child (and let’s face it, Topsy & Tim isn’t out on DVD yet, as that’s currently our biggest distraction) is My Little Pony – we’ve been sent two DVDs to review, ‘Welcome to Ponyville‘ and ‘Call of the Cutie‘ – they’re suitable for all audiences and have a U rating which means I can get on with what I need to while H is in a cutie, horsey world of pink where she’s happy and not scared about a single thing. This is a good thing by the way, as so many things at the moment seem to be scaring her, so My Little Pony is a nice safe option and one she enjoys. Both DVDs are out now – if your little one is a fan, then check it out! My Little Pony is shown on the Tiny Pop channel (a channel well worth checking out as it also shows Meg & Mog!) !

We have been sent all these for the purpose of review and Christmas recommendations. All opinions are our own and honest! The links above are affiliate links to Amazon where current prices are shown.